Monday, July 16, 2012

Dare I say it? Writer's Block!

What's it all about, Alfie? What is the theme of your Pulitzer Prize contender? My palms are sweaty, heart racing...just typing those questions. Why is it so tough for writers to summarize their story? Can you feasibly write an entire novel without the vaguest notion what the key message is? Well, duh, yes...I've done it a time or two (hundred). But, as Stephen King says in his wonderful book, On Writing, "starting with the questions and thematic concerns is a recipe for bad fiction." So, where do you start? You can't just throw ink at paper and get away with it...unless you're Rohrshach. There are so many rules: theme this, plot that, back-story: drizzle, don't drop it. Mechanics seeks to trump creation. Theme, plot, back-story...theme, plot, back-story. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Please, God, lead me to the yellow brick road or, at least, back on solid ground. I am floundering here... stuck between this literary rule and that constructional constraint. An overly methodical approach to writing fiction seems stilted to me. A good story can be plotted to death, structured to the point that the subtle thread tying chapter to chapter could tug a boat. Some amount of plotting is necessary, but too much author intrusion in a story makes for a stilted tale. The story is, and must be, a dynamic entity with a life of its own. Don't you agree?

37 comments:

I think (hope, pray) there is a way to balance both. After all there must be some central message we want to be convey--some gooey centre to our chocolate Easter egg. After all we need to have some reason to return to face that blank screen. Or, prehaps, the burning desire to discover what's next is sufficient. Thank you for this thought provoking post.

Good point, Leanne. A story without focus is like spending the day circling the lot looking for a place to park. I do realize the importance of the 'mechanics' of writing. I just find it limiting at times. :)

Good point, Leanne. A story without focus is like spending the day circling the lot looking for a place to park. I do realize the importance of the 'mechanics' of writing. I just find it limiting at times. :)

My current one is dealing me a fit. It took me weeks to get past the first two chapters, then another week for edits to those and addition of a couple more chapters, now finding every excuse in the world for not writing as I've just reached chapter 14. To put it quite honestly, my get up and go--got up and went. Maybe it's spring fever! Maybe I just need a break! Maybe...oh, God, I'm procrastinating! It doesn't feel like block. My characters always lead me, but this time--ugh! Maybe THAT's my problem. Maybe my characters are tired and need a break. I could work on something new and get refreshed and ready to hit this one again with gusto! Sure. That's it! (Is anybody buying this?)

Linda, I feel for you. Just writing the word 'block' made my writing hand spasm. :) You will get through this. When I'm really in a slump, I do one of a few things: clean my house (You can eat off my floors when I'm stresed out!), garden or go 'thrifting'. I just take a break for a few hours and do something else. I hope that helps you. Good luck.

Oh my Scarlett this all sounds to serious...Counseling ASAP..Go far a long walk with a pad and paper in hand (tape recorder might work best), then share with me your summary of this book (okay I am hoping for a sneak peek). Now get busy so I can read book 3...I love you and your awesome! Hoping for a speedy recovery. Much admiration from your number one fan.

I could never be accused of 'over-plotting'. I get a mental image of my characters and their core traits and personalities, then I hand them the basic plot, line them up at the gate and then pull the trigger. They run the track weaving the threads through the story.

Hi Kathy- just realized I posted my reply in the wrong spot. :) Must have been another long night. Thank you so much for commenting. I often start out with a particular story-line in mind and, using the technique you mention, find myself allowing the story to go in a completely different direction. Like Freya said, it's organic.

Hi Kathy. Thanks for stopping in. :) Your approach sounds like a good one. The story, as it unfolds, can be a surprise to the author when the characters are given a little free rein (pun intended). I often start out with a particular story-line in mind and, using the technique you mention, find myself allowing the story to go in a completely different direction. Like Freya said, it's organic.

I just let it flow from my thoughts to my fingertips, and when I've got it all out, I go back and make sure it makes sense. If I was worried about structure and construction and all those other things, I'm sure my creativity would take a hit as I was constantly worrying about whether or not I was following the proper method!

You and I use the same approach to writing, Kelly. I have a plot in mind, but I don't allow it to constrain my characters overly much. :) I look forward to getting to know you and exchanging thoughts. Hopping over to check out your blog now. :)

I totally agree! Plotting and theme are the bears/vampires/goblins in my secret writer's closet that come out to haunt me every time I try and put pen to page (or fingers to keyboard...). The act of boiling down a huge opus into a succinct synopsis or back matter blurb takes objectivity and TIME. Time away from the work. I like to let it sit for 2-3 wks then read it fresh and then write the odious synopsis/summary and let others review it (who have read the bk) and have them help me revise it. It works better that way and takes the pressure off.

I'm so glad you stopped by. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I love your phrasing," Plotting and theme are the bears/vampires/goblins in my secret writer's closet that come out to haunt me every time I try and put pen to page (or fingers to keyboard...". Boy, do I agree!

Have you read Stephrn King's, On Writing? Great book! He suggests doing just what you mentioned above: stepping away for a few weeks before doing final edits. I've found that works for me as well.

All the best to you. (You have a terrific blog, BTW. I'm a fan/follower.)

Ooohhh how I love writer's block, that is usually due to some brain fart that I'm struggling through! The last one lasted a month until finally my daughter did something so typical to her book's character, that it turned into 3 more chapters in the novel that I'm writing! I find that just leaving the book alone entirely helps to re-center my focus so that as I'm giving my book the chance to grow and twist and turn and try to take a life of its own, that I keep it on track and I don't end up with something way off base as to what I was trying to write in the first place.

Honestly another way that I try to overcome the writer's block in plotting is to just doodle. They look horrible with the stick figures and squiggles, but inspiration can find itself in even the worst drawn stick figure or blobish castle and town.

Thank you for being so kind enough to write me on Book Blogs! I appreciate it, and look forward to growing as a writer! I'm writing my first book and I'm hoping that I can just keep it interesting enough so that I don't choke the life out of my storyline, lol! Thanks again, and awesome blog!

Hi, S.D.Thanks for stopping in. I could not agree with you more about doodling as a means to evercome THE BLOCK. I doodle and it really helps me clear my head. The other thing that helps me is free-form poetry. Another form of doodling?

I have struggled to put pen to paper for months. Finally, I decided to start my blog - last ditch attempt to reignite that fire. It has certainly worked for me! After writing a few posts on my blog, I felt inspired enough to write a story. I have not continued with the story I had already started, rather I am writing a completely different one. I wonder now if this was perhaps the reason I have been struggling to pick up a pen for so long - I was not happy with the story I was writing! So that one has gone on the backburners and hopefully this new one will get to the finish line!

Karen, I know that happens sometimes and it can be disappointing when you've invested alot of yourself in a story. You could be right. Maybe the one you're working on now is the one you're meant to write. The other, after you've had time away from it, may end up being a best seller. Who knows? The important thing is that you don't quit.Blessings to you.

Heck yes, I agree. I do minimal planning before I sit down to write fiction, and I take notes along the way to remember certain details. Too much planning would ruin the process for me. I cannot try to come up with the story because it only comes through me. Like you said, when the author interferes too much, the story may suffocate and die.

I do not use outlines or any other mechanical means to write because what you get out of it is something that can feel and sound mechanical and contrived. It is also a quick trip to stagnation because you find yourself forcing your creativity into an outline rather than unleashing an expression on a theme.

I spent two decades as a litigation attorney writing persuasively every day. The best training for writing, however, was my love for oral story telling. When I was a boy, I met a journalist who wrote for a local newspaper and who during the summer told stories on his lawn to children in the area. He became a huge attraction for local kids. His stories were always improvised, but thematic, and would last about 30 minutes. He invented characters based on who was in attendance each night. Some of his stories were better than others, but none of us kids cared because it was always entertaining.

When I had kids of my own, we read books every night, but eventually I got interested in oral story telling as a way to convey wisdom. Kids go full-zombie on you when you try to lecture them, but you can get all of the same ideas across with an imaginative story and it will sink in. This is why, for centuries, people trained their children with stories. They work. My daughter particularly liked a series of stories I used to tell about Jullietta Poopski the compassionate young girl who was both sleuth and prima ballerina of the Great Romanov Ballet in Russia just before the Bolshevik Revolution. These were steam-punk kind of stories that could go on for an hour or longer in one sitting. This was how I taught my daughter about social commitment, morality, ethics and compassion.

The point is that marathon oral story telling is fantastic preparation for writing. It teaches you to engage your audience, innovate and improvise on the spot and you get used to telling "stories in flow" which is a skill that makes mental blocking an impossibility. Writer's block is akin to stage fright, the unwanted internal dialogue that stifles creativity, and the more you get into your head about it, the worse it gets. Forcing yourself to flow through as if you were in front of live audience is a skill that any writer can learn. Improvising stories for local children is a great way to develop this skill.

Years later when my youngest step daughter appeared to be developing metaphorical brain damage from the excessive use of a cellphone, I found that if a father's lectures will cause controllable eye-rolling, a stepfather's lectures will be ignored entirely. So, I sat down and wrote what was supposed to be a short story called The Lotus Blossom about a teenage girl who learns that living into the typical socialization of girls is how you get trapped under the glass ceiling of sexism. Giving up the pursuit of popularity and cuteness to develop real skills lets girls take real risks and live a full life. It is a hard message to make interesting to a teenage texting maven. Two months and 180,000 words later I had the draft manuscript of my first novel.

So, this is a very long-winded way of saying that oral story telling is like going to the gym for writers. Live audiences, just like in comedy and the performing arts, are the the best way that I know to make sure that writer's block never happens because flow becomes your habit. Furthermore, it creates intimacy between the story teller and the audience and lets you see in real time how a scene is landing for the audience. It tunes you to relatedness.

Best of luck to you. Thanks for presenting such an interesting topic to discuss. It is on every writer's mind at one point or another.

Interesting comments, D.M. Thanks for sharing. I've always been so shy that I become tongue-tied when I try to tell a story. Maybe that's why I'm a writer? I can see how effective telling a story could be. An added bonus, as you mention, would be gauging audience reaction. Stop by anytime. :)

Hi Scarlett, I believe that the writer should let the story flow on its own and interfere only where necessary. Am I making sense? Sometimes, the words seem to just appear on paper without the slightest thought on the themes and subtext. Go for it, get the story on paper first, you can always tweak it later. Great blog you got here! :)I am now following you on Twitter and Facebook.Here's my Twitter, https://twitter.com/#!/YAbookclub